Anyone w/kids and no recent sv?

[luna33]

Another post got me thinking . . . I'm sure this has been discussed, but it seems there are so many svs out there now, more than when I was growing up (in the 1975-1985 period). Growing up the only sv I remember in my house was one that my sister had (which I caught, but only v****ed once--she did for a whole day). And I don't remembersvs being so rampant in my friends' houses either. But now it seems everyone I know faces it yearly or more. I have an emet friend whose son got three last year, and a germophobe friend whose son got it four times. My daughter (who did not go to school until this year) had one in March.


So, has anyone with kids under 7 or so NOT had a sv enter thir home?

[liriodendron]

I'd like to know where you grew up.

I grew up mostly in South Florida and didn't even know what a SV was
until I went to college and started hearing about them on almost a
daily basis. Like I've said before, I believe they are endemic in or
occur more frequently in some areas than others.



I don't have kids though so I can't answer that question for you but I
do of course hear about SV more than I used to but a few key factors
have changed. For one, I'm paying attention to it and in a "post 9/11"
world, the news media has managed to capitalize on SV outbreaks whereas
they apparently weren't as interesting if no one thought it could be
terror related. Same thing wiht "flu". You hear the terms used very
loosely now when people self-diagnose because those terms have been so
publicized. There's also a theory about global travel which I buy
into and antibacterial soap-resistant strains.



I had a friend in college who grew up in NYC and she was somewhat of an
e-phobe too. She said she didn't hear about them in that place until
she went to college either.



This is something of an interesting topic for me and I'd like to set up
a web site that tracks SV geographically and chronologically.


Edited by: liriodendron

[luna33]

Hi,


Thanks for your reply. I grew up in southeastern Pennsylvania, in a suburb of Philadelphia, which is where I still live now. So (in my experience) svs were not prevalent here 20 years ago, but are RAMPANT here now. At least last year they were. I hope this year is better. Last year was *horrible.*

[pretty polly]

Well I have a 6 year old daughter and to date ** TOUCH WOOD **
if she has v*d it is not something either me or my husband have
caught - hence, I don't think it was an SV. I live in constant fear
because people are always mentioning a bug thats going round or
whatever - but in all truth, none of my family have ever caught "IT" if
it was a bug. As Liriodendron reports, people are far too quick to
blame their illness on a SV when in reality it was their own poor food
hygiene standard that caused the problem, or something similar.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, I grew up with 2 older sisters and
my mum and dad and as far as i can remember we never ever had a
SV in our house - I;m sure I would remember, but there was never a
time where one person infected another, or we all became ill at the
same time or within days of each other! And back then we weren't
nearly as hygiene conscious as we are nowadays - I never used to
wash my hands before eating!!! And I swear the only times I V*d
were from travel s*ness or from eating large amounts of ready
salted crisps and then doing handstands for 2 hours!!! (My own fault
entirely - i Know!!)

[swiftette]

I agree, there IS so much more germs out there today! My friend's 3 kids never v*ed last year even with all the viruses going around. Mine however[img]smileys/smilies_12.gif[/img]. I'm praying this year will be the year without V*.

[jennyleigh1975]

I have two thoughts on this:

Maybe we really were healthier back then, or that these stomach viruses werent as prevalant .......... OR

Maybe it wasnt talked about as much. As in, there was no internet, ect ............ back then.

I think its a combination of both. I can only remember having an SV once when I was growing up, and that was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I dont remember my friends having them very often either.

[rileyl]

Yeah - I think there are more people and thus more viruses around then when we were kids. Some of the bugsseem much worse too. I was never as sick from a sv as a kid as my daughter has been. Not sure whether that is because the bugs are more virulent or that's just her.My son does not seem to v as many times with any given sv. Also, we are just more aware of them because we are e-phobes and because there is just so much more "information" out there between the world media and the internet.


I also have a theory that sv's are actually harder to catch than a respiratory illness because in nearly all cases, the transmission is hand/food to mouth. I think that airborne transmission rarely happens. At least that is my experience with my kids. And, believe me, I have been up close and personal when my kids have been sick, and managed to avoid catching anything through hand washing etc.

[liriodendron]

riley, there is an abstract written regarding the airborne transmission of viral gastroenteritis.

Here's a link. Don't go to it if you are prone to anxiety! But I think you know where I'm going with this.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/q...i?cmd=Retrieve &db=PubMed&list_uids=2571872&dopt=Cita tion

[aloha]

my kids are 5 and 7, my son was sick with an sv last about 3 years ago, he's the 5 year old adn my daughter was sick 2 years ago February, so I'm feeling liked there doomed!!!or maybe their immune systems are strong...i dunno...i hope it's the latter!!!

[peachykeen]

I've has a sv two times - once when I was 8, oncve when I was 14 (I'm 28
now). I have two children - one just turned 2 last week, the other is 9
months. Neither of them have had a sv. The older v*'s often though, she
makes herself when she gets angry. I must say, exposure therapy has
worked wonders for me. When she v*'s and I know for a fact it's from anger
it doesn't bother me at all anymore - I've caught it in my hands without a
shudder. I've come very far, before I had kids I would either run away or
plug my ears, rock, and sing out loud if someone v*d near me. Now I can
hold her and comfort her when she makes herself ill. My fear is all about
contagious v*ing though, and when I know she's not ill I don't worry about
catching anything, and it doesn't bother me. But I live in constant fear that
the kids will pick something up.

[rileyl]

liriodendron - I am aware that it is possible to transmit the virus through aerosolized particles in the vomit. As I said above, I believe that this "rarely happens," and the more prevalent way is through otherwise putting the virus in your mouth via your hands, food etc. I say this after 10 years of nursingmy kids through various sv's and being less than a foot away from them when they are vomiting and never catching the sv from them. I don't want people on the forum to be overly alarmed by the idea of airborne transmission.

[luna33]

Thanks for all your replies---


rileyl, that is very empowering to hear that you never caught an sv from them---I am OK (shaky, but OK) dealing with it when its not contagious, but I feel much better thinking that there's a chance I can avoid getting it. When my daughter had an sv in March, I was right next to her holding the trash can for 6 hours, and I didn't catch it, but was SURE I was going to, and was in hyper Lysol Purell mode for two weeks and lost probably 10 pounds on the emet diet. Your words make me feel better, because I really though it was fluke that I didn't catch it, and that next time I will be doomed.

[jennyleigh1975]

I have a friend that is 48 and has two children. They are 19 and 21 now. The 21 yr old v* alot as a child. My friend told me that she has never caught an SV from them. She is a school teacher too. She said her husband was usually the one who caught the SV'S from the children. I think that with proper hygiene, and maybe a good immune system, that is it possible to stay well and V* free. This friend of mine gives me hope anyway ........

[liriodendron]

riley, I apologize for misterpreting. You're right from what I
understand the likelyhood of catching many of the viruses that cause
gastroenteritis through droplets in the air is not as great as many of
us believe. I didn't mean to cause any unnecessary worry.



I also would like to clarify what I wrote earlier about illnesses in
different areas. Although I have noticed stomach illnesses to be more
common in some areas than others, I do belive the germs that cause
these illnesses are all around, worldwide. What is interesting to me is
when they strike different areas and if things such as failing
municipal water systems are to blame with many of the illnesses. It has
been reported when contamination of a water supply happens, it
generally effects a general local area such as a town, maybe even a
school. It would be nice if health officials would pay more attention
to what could be causing illnesses rather than shrugging it off as
being normal.

[rileyl]

luna33 - Yes, it always comforts me to hear from other moms who have stayed healthy when faced with a sick kid. Bottom line, I think that hand washing is your first and best line of defense. Then remember to keep your hands away from your face. There is always a chance thatvirus particles could "splash" on you (sorry, gross), but I think the child would basically have to V on you (again, sorry, gross). That being said, I will still panic the next time my kids are sick andwill need reassurance that I won't "catch it." Sigh...


liriodendron - You raise an good point. I have never understood why health officials have not taken these viruses more seriously. In some third world nations, children can die because of them. It may be just an "incovenience" to wealthier countries, but some of these bugs are incapacitating. You can function with a cold, but not really with a sv. And if they go through a whole family, you are talking over a week of missed work, school etc.Over and above my emet, I wonder what the real cost is interms of lost work hours and trips to the doctor etc.

[liriodendron]

Well they recently talked about the possible economic losses due to
lost work from Influenza and the potential losses if there were to be a
avian flu pandemic.



Even in our first world country, 20 people die each year from
gastroenteritis caused by viruses such as Norwalk. but many thousands
more are hospitalized. The culprit as you might have guessed is
dehydration.



I'm trying to work on my forum etiquette here so I don't make people worry even more.

[californiagirl]

Well, I am 38, and haven't been s* in 15 years. The only reason I was sick was because (I think) I was preggers and ate shrimp at Denny's![img]smileys/smilies_05.gif[/img]


I've known my hubby for almost7 years, and he has never gotten sick, and my daughter, who's 14, hasn't been sick in about 6 years (knock on wood!!). I have two sons who live with their father....Derrick is 19, last was sick when he was about 6 and Philip is 17, last sick when he was about 11.

[rileyl]

Californiagirl - That's great news!! It so nice to hear that kids get sick less often as they get older. Ihave noticed this with my own kids, but went through some awful times with them when they were younger. Especially my daughter who was sick quite a bit between ages 4 and 5.